BREAKING a HORSE! PLEASE ANSWER ASAP!?

Question

I have a 3 year old Paint gelding that I am breaking...he is doing pretty good and he did amazing yesterday...he is finally getting his turns down! Would it be okay to take him out on the trails with two other horses (both of which he knows...one is his dam)? He doesn't seems to spook too easy and yesterday I rode him up and down the road and a car passed and everything and he was fine. Do you think it's too soon to take him out on the trails? What are some things to work on if I do take him?

Answer 1

a short trail might be ok but I would wait awhile.

some things you could do before hitting the trail is setting up obstacle courses, getting to walk over tarps, small jumps, following a cow, anything that keeps him interested but still in a setting he's used to. I would do these some of these things before i set out on a trail and keep doing them even after i took him on the trai many times.

Whatever you choose to do remember to be safe and HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

Taking him out with older, well-broke, quiet horses is an excellent part of his training.  He'll be watching what those other horses do and if they are sensible, he will be too.  Just don't ask him to go over terrain that scares him or push him to move too fast.  Take your time, have a nice, slow, leisurely trail ride and your horse will benefit greatly.

Answer 3

As long as you have reasonable brakes and steering, take him out on the trails with quiet company.  It's excellent training for young horses, and the best way to get them going forward and straight, and to keep them from getting sour to training.

Answer 4

The only way he is going to learn is by going, and I think the yyounger they learn something, the better.

I think it's an awesome idea, especially because he's going in company. I would say put him in the middle of those 2 horses for the ride. Leading might be too scary  or overwhelming for him (but then again I don't know him, so he might be fine with it). And bringing up the rear might make him feel like he's being left behind, so he might be tense and right on the horse in front's butt the whole time.

Happy trails!

Hope I helped!

Edit - I just saw the what should I work on part. I would work making sure he's calm and knows he still has to listen. Let him know that nothing bad is going to happen to him and just reassure him that you're up there and praise him for doing good. Keep it relaxing and fun for both of you :]

Answer 5

maybe you should change it from saying Breaking to just wanting to take your horse out and wondering if he is safe. because how you worded your whole question it sounds like he is a green horse. Thats why I got confused and answered the way I did. Breaking means he is not use to everything and trail riding isnt something you have to break a horse into really you just have to master all he has learned outside of a corral so its the next step up. So good luck I guess

Answer 6

Start out on trails now.

Trails are safer than the side of a road anyways.

Out on a trail with a couple solid minded and trail safe horses will help your horse gain confidence.

If you have a good one rein stop on him then time to hit the trails.  The narrower trails are better too.  It keeps them forward and not looking all over the place.

Sounds odd but it's so true.  You'd think the wide open trails were less of a scary scene.  Nope...they have too much to look at and watch for horse eaters!  Their minds are too busy.

Wear a helmet.

my mare was out on the trails once she had her one rein down pat.  She had maybe 4-8 hours of back time before we hit the trails.  She was a breeze!

edit:

oh..while you are out on the trail keep practicing that one rein and get him to pay attention to that.  When he does...sit for a second and let him rest...rub his neck.

Serpentine the larger trails so he learns to listen again.

I wouldn't put too much more into him until he has these things great.  Too much instruction on that trail will make him sour.  Little at a time. :)

My mare LOVES to leave the barn and ride.  It's fun for her..not a job.  She listens but I also let her (even when she was 3) choose a few paths of her own if they were safe.

We'd come to a trail split and I would sit and say "which way" and she would look and look then I let her pick.

She enjoyed having a say.. we were a team.

She also knew that she didn't get to choose all of the time.

Answer 7

Well I think it would be best to ride him on trails on your property or somewhere near you first and get him used to being in the trees and the sounds of nature that he is not used to. What if some other horses are on the trail other than the ones you know and the people riding them are loud? What if he spooks, maybe you should work with him with noises first and see how he handles that then yes! You should take him for a trail ride, the road was a good idea, getting him used to it if you plan on riding him on the road more often. The only way you can get a horse ready to ride any where is to test his abilitys and know what he does. Good luck, sounds like you've been doing everything right!

Answer 8

I guess you would have to leave that final decision up to you! If he is fairly quiet and you seem confident in him then give it a try, but do be prepared that the moment your gut warns you and your horse is starting to give you signs that he is not o.k., be prepared to stop and return, don't push it! IF you push it at this stage in training it will do two things. For one it will breach the confidence your horse has in you and you in him and he will act out his unconfidence which in turn will make things more difficult the next time you want to trail ride.

Just listen to your horse and act accordingly! If you do that then you both will maintain your confidence in eachother and next time will be even better!  

If your horse is telling you from the get go that he is not ready for it that day, then pass! Then try again another time.

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 9

You shouldn't take a partially trained horse on a trail ride until he is fully trained.

(Safety precautions)

Answer 10

Well done for doing so well so far

The only way you'll know is to give it a go.  As you've already said you will have another friend with you so if anything goes wrong you will have someone with you to keep a straight mind.

All in all you sound sensible enough to keep a calm head and this I believe is something horses need as if you're calm and collected, they will be too.

As I'm from the UK I'm not too sure what 'trails' are but as long as you're ready for unexpected and don't get too relaxed I cant see why you cant give it a go as everyone has to start somewhere.

All I'd suggest is maybe prepare for the worst by taking mobile phone, wear a body protector as horses are unpredictable and always end the ride on a good note, even if it's a pain to have to keep doing something over and over, always end training well so you can both feel satisfied.

Hope it all goes well and good luck!

Answer 11

As long as the two horses you are going with are reliable trail mounts, then I wouldn't see why not.  As long as you have basic stop go and turn commands solid, then trail riding can be a good way to teach the horse with out the horse even knowing he is learning.  Good Luck and be careful!

Answer 12

I think trail riding him would be fine. It's probably better to teach him when he is young they are more apt to adapt to things when they are young. We always took younger horses to the mountains with us, I think that is the best place to do things with them. Horses act alot different and listen more when they don't have a barn to go back to.

Answer 13

you should take the horsse out and see what is does. make sure it listens to you.

Answer 14

yes, horses can be and are, "fully trained".....takes lots of time, and is not often achieved, but yes, it does happen. You average riding horse is trained enough for the rider/owner to be comfy, however the cutting horse, a "true" cutting horse, will get you a beer. working/road verses trails, Hmmmmm the biggest difference i have encountered with spooking is this, the noise that branches make, when the horse un-knowingly pulls you through them, stand the horse below low branches to start, use something to rattle them, make noise with them until your horse is comfy. Watch the down side, your horse will be almost as sure footed up hill, as he/she is on level ground, however downhill is a task for horses, especially those new to downhill trailing. I always take the first few hills at an angle if at all possible. Lead the horse through some thick brush, get the horse used to hearing the sounds, and feeling the limbs smack his/her legs and chest. Do everything you can do to get the horse used to it before riding off. I had one that was so bad, I took several unusual steps after talking with several older trainers, this mare was a waki_warrior foal, (strong minded bloodline) but with lots of work, and lots of time, i have her riding through dry standing corn with no problems,

ANYone who knows horses will tell you, if you can ride through dry standing corn, your horse is NOTHING but broke. be careful, always leave yourself an out when exposing your horse to something that will spook it.

Answer 15

The only thing that has me wondering is the mention of traffic.  How many days do you have on him undersaddle?

My worst horse accident involved a 3 yr old Appendix colt I had maybe 30 days on.  I got such a wonderful work from him the day before that I competely forgot about lunging him FIRST and wearing him down BEFORE I stepped aboard.  I saddled him up cold backed, stepped on board and went off to work him in the arena.  One of my buddies was in the arena riding his mare and we were just WALKING along...  My colt nosed at the mare and I snatched his head and legged him in the opposite direction to let him know that wasn't allowed.   He stuck his head to the ground before I could pull him up and went to buckin'.  Off I went and unfortunately underneath him.

My inside of my left knee has a permanent dent and a half moon shaped hoof scar that's now 30 years old.

Kid just called and reminded me about another green horse tale...

In '74 I was riding a little six yr old AQHA mare who I had about 7 months in on under saddle.  I was hacking her in my old Siegfried huntseat saddle with a friend of mine down the San Gabriel riverbed when we spotted a "dead" refridgerator.  Both mares got bug eyed and snorted at it.  We took them over to get a better look at the thing so they'd know it wasn't going to hop out of the bushes and EAT them.  They'd settled down and started to relax when my mare hit it with her hoof.  Both mares spun around, took off at a dead run and all I remember is seeing my friend being drug, collecting my reins, finding my irons when she went down a gulley and came up without me!  That time it was my left ankle...

Answer 16

Take him out now!!!!! Use the buddy system, his mom etc. etc. I always take mine out be for they are broke.  If it was my horse I would be out  every other day if able. Just take him so he can get use to everything now. & It is called breaking!! For the dumb a$$ who had to say don't call it that!! Uneducated people!!!!!!!!!! I break all my horses!!!!! & If you can't get anyone to go with you, you ride his dam & pony pull him. So when you go out things are not that new to him.